AUSIEX has released some preliminary findings from an upcoming refresh of its 2022 research paper, SMSFs Under Advice, a comparative analysis of the profile, trading activity and holdings of advised SMSF clients.
The findings include:
- New SMSF trading accounts are relying more on advice, are increasingly female and favour a distinct mix of asset classes, securities, and sectors.
- SMSF accounts were resilient in 2022. The total number of SMSFs across advised and self-directed segments was level year on year. Advised SMSFs in 2022 comprised approximately 61.83 per cent of all SMSF accounts, with self-directed accounts representing 32.41 per cent (no change from 2021).
- Newly created SMSF accounts tell a different story, arguably more reflective of the challenging conditions. New SMSF accounts through organic acquisition only declined overall in 2022 from 2021 levels across all segments. This decline was primarily driven by a significant 30+ per cent fall in new self-directed SMSF accounts, perhaps pointing to a return to more typical rates of new account creation following the enthusiasm for new SMSF accounts witnessed through the global pandemic.
- By contrast, advised SMSF accounts created in 2022 retreated to a lesser extent in the order of 9.2 per cent, suggesting that demand for advised SMSFs remained relatively resilient.
- Looking more closely at the factors driving the declines in advised SMSFs, of all generations, Baby Boomers (accounting for new advised accounts created) fell 6.56 per cent in terms of new advised SMSF accounts, whilst Gen X accounts were down 7.27 per cent.
- Millennial SMSFs reversed at a higher rate of 9.3 per cent by comparison; however, this paled in comparison with a 30+ per cent fall for self-directed Millennial SMSF investors.